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Misc. rules

First of all, reacquaint yourself with The Serebiiforums Rules. Get comfortable with them, because they inform the rules here.

Misc. Moderation 2011

Videri Quam Esse

Spoiler:- May strain the eyes:

The moderation in Misc will follow the outlines for forum behavior provided in the general Serebiiforums rules. In addition, we will try to accompany the Misc community towards general amity and humor. This means we will take the community's - your - needs and wants into account when we intervene as staff. We want this forum to be enjoyable for every one of you. Along those lines, how we respond to you will likely be a direct result of how you have approached us. This gives you the power to mold your Misc section experience based on your own behavior. Be decent; you'll get what you give in this section.

If you believe you are having a problem with the Misc moderation, there are options available to you to remedy the problem. Your first step should be to PM your concerns to the moderator in question. You are also free to seek a second opinion in the form of PMing another moderator, preferrably of a higher rank, if your complaint persists. As moderators, we are all here to be as helpful and as clear as possible. It is our job to make sure you understand how to enjoy this community without having trouble, so feel free to take advantage of our responsibility as often as you can.

To that end, let me now give you a few helpful hints at how to avoid problems.

Swearing: We're usually pretty lax about swearing in posts here, but don't get complacent. Swearing is fair game for a foul language infraction, so if you swear and get an infraction, take it standing up. We told you it was a possibility. If you're bright you'll just let the filter do its job.

Spamming: While in Misc, try to exercise your spam-detection skills. Much of our conversation here is unconstrained and casual, but there are still a few obvious trespasses. For example, if you make a post with so little content that you actually need to add something ("10char" or " . . .") to meet the character requirement, you're going to be infracted for spam. We don't want much, honestly.

Replying to Spam: This is harder to avoid, if only because you just cannot help your adolescent urge to backsass. If you see a thread that is clearly plain old stupid spam, don't reply to it. If you see a spammy or otherwise horrible post inside a normal, useful thread, do what you're supposed to do: report the post and leave it alone. Witty retorts are often less witty than they first appear.

Trolling: From time to time, Misc gets visited by people who just want to mess things up. Trolls post threads that are inflammatory, sensational, or just plain disgusting. They are trying to elicit a reaction. That's really all it is. They want a reaction; any reaction will do. If all you do is notice them and say, "Huh?" that is enough to keep them coming back. It's kind of like replying to spam. To make it easier for you, I'll give you solid criteria for identifying what to ignore: if the thread/post is insulting, offensive, or nonsense, don't reply to it.

Infractions and Bans: If you repeatedly ignore the rules, the point value of your infractions will increase. This means you won't be able to break rules for a while, then lie low and wait for your infractions to expire. Once you've earned [15] infraction points, you will be banned from the entire forum for [one week]. If you continue to earn infraction points after your ban has ended, your next ban will be much longer.

Now, on to the bit parts.

The Miscellaneous Discussion section is a hodge-podge of miscellaneous people and ideas. We take all comers here in Misc! It's not as serious as Debates nor as loose as Polls, though it is more entertaining than Entertainment. You'll still need to write clear and interesting posts if you want to make a good impression on the community.

Posting in Miscellaneous

Titling a new thread Cars! and writing, "How 'bout them Tesla Roadsters?" is not enough. If you can't write a complete paragraph that explores and comments on the topic of your thread, no one else is going to be inspired to contribute much in return. Basically, if you can't write a thorough opening post, you'd better not post the thread at all.

Similarly, if you can write a few paragraphs of detailed information about the topic, but the topic is your personal life or experiences, we suggest you just take the whole thing over to LiveJournal or Tumblr or wherever. We're looking for interesting discussion in Misc, and frankly, unless you're a spokesman for Dos Equis, you aren't all that interesting. We have an advice thread for those angsty moments you just need to share with us, but otherwise keep your dirty laundry out of the rest of the section.

Finally, we have a history of being overrun with a sort of internet "shock jock" for our comedy requirements. If you've been here for a while, you'll learn about members like that. The good news is that sometimes being a sensationalist jerk is entertaining and boosts activity. The bad news is that it's almost always crummy entertainment that ends with everyone else feeling frustrated and unsatisfied. Our advice: make sure you're a fantastic lover before you seduce Misc. Make us laugh without making us angry. Be Jerry Lewis, not Lewis Black.

Polls is where most quick threads will belong. A poll is a thread that asks a question with a simple answer. If your thread's topic is calling for replies of a sentence or less, put it in Polls. "What's Your Favorite Color?" "How Often Do You Brush Your Teeth?" "Where Did You Go On Summer Vacation?" Those are all examples of polls, not discussions.

Entertainment: TV, books, movies, music, and sports. If you can watch, read, play, or listen to it, post it in Entertainment.

Entertainment is the subsection where the most entertaining things get posted! Actually not. Most of the Entertainment section is filled with sports, television, and music. If you like stuff like that, schedule a psychiatric appointment at your first convenience. But while you wait to see the doc, read threads about popular culture and media and other social things in the Entertainment section. Check the stickied threads, though - there are some important limits to keep in mind.

Debate Forum: Weightier topics. Debates is for topics that are likely to inspire strong opinions in the people posting, like religion and politics. The conversation is deeper, so you're held to a tighter standard of substance and reasoning in your contributions.

Stay out of the Debate Forum. It is only for smart people. If you are here in Misc, statistics suggest you are not likely to be a smart person. Don't feel offended; it's just statistics. Which you probably don't understand very well because you're not smart. But if you don't care about not looking smart to everyone reading your posts, visit the Debate Forum and participate in the discussions there. Threads in Debates are usually going to be pretty controversial in nature, so bring a cold glass of water to throw in your face when things get hot. Be warned - Debates has a stricter structure of post content requested.

Quick Links

The Questions ThreadThe Advice ThreadThe Picture ThreadThe General Chat Thread
* Along with the Chat thread in Misc, you have the opportunity to get together with the Misc community on its own irc channel, #SPP-misc! Before you head over, beware that #SPP-misc is not technically part of this forum, and as such is not run according to our Rules here. You'll be leaving the protective waters of the Misc subforum, so expect to act accordingly there. Questions about #SPP-misc can be PMed to Deku_Link, the channel's main operator. Have fun!